Wilsons ? Bear Huntin'est Family By Bill Sharpe (reprinted by cou.'tecy of the FORD TIMES) ? Per, X. C. - ha, been the W..S n. v>. the bears for well over a hundred ye.;:?, ar.d .t saern* to be a tie. The bear-hun:inest family m America, with its tra ditions going back to Big Tom ilson himself, is carrying the feud on into the fourth generation; but Ewart Wilson, present overlord of , the bear-lands below Mt. Mitchell, admits there are more bears now than there were when his great grandpappy. Ned Wilson, settled on Cane River. And he's happy about it. because there's nothing a Wilson likes better, than to go' after a bear. Big Tom, legendary woodsman of this region, killed 113 of the big' brutes in his days. Adolph, his son, I counted 112 of them, and then hung 1 up his rifle, determined not to beat the record of his illustrious father, although old Dolph would go on the hunts to "ear" the race. Ewart' has over 50 to his credit, and I Ewart s son, Ned, last year started his career as a driver and got his first animal. The bears of the Black Moun tains and the Wilsons of the same address, are respectfully acquaint ed with each othef. It is remem bered that once Big Turn had two cubs treed, but he was sans gun or dog. The frightened cubs started climbing down the tree, anxious to be elsewhere. Big Tom lit pine torches in an attempt to keep them treed, but they came right on down. Fearful of being disgraced by al lowing such an easy haul to get away, Big Tom, yelled. "Stop!" he roared. "This is Big Tom a-talkin' to ye!" Whereupon the cubs, havijig heard that dreadful name from ? their parents, promptly scampered back up the tree. The hostilities have been carried on without acrimony or animosity. In spite of his depredations, the big black souther, bear is too highlv regarded by the Appalachians to arouse their hatred. He is, to the true mountaineer, the noblest and wisest adversary of the f,,rests and the sume relation to the south ern Highlands that #the tiger has to India, the lion to Africa, and the buffalo to our plains. He is a wor thy, cunning and utterly fascinat ing quarry. To the Wilsons and their hounds he is a perpetual and peisonal challenge. A traveler from Bo>;on (Charies Dudley Warner), wh.> stopped at their home around 1870, describes in his diary how, in listening to Big Tom. the man suddenly seem ed familiaj-, and then he realized he was keeping company with Leatherstocking himseli. His fame I as a woodsman was already so great as to have turned Warner !uW.af,'l.h'S home' and he admits that 'Big Tom himself weighed in the scale more than Mt. Mitchell and not t0 see him was to miss one of the most characteristic produc tions of the country." Lor.g alter he had gone to bed, the traveler heard Turn describe the dry's hunt to his son (probab \v Adoiphus). No, he had not glimp.-ed the bear, but he knew it well. He described in detail its probable weight, sex and disposi :ion; the trail crossed this stream or that, and headed toward a fam iliar cove or ridge; the bear likely would feed in such a hollow to morrow, where already plans were made to catch it. B:g Tom was, however, no back woods bragadoccio. In Asheville, old-timers remember the story of the Southern Society of New York banquet he attended near the end of his life. Orators dwelt at length upon his deeds and qualifies, and at last Big Tom was called upon to respond to the tribute. The old fellow, now with a long white beard, arose and with digni ty gave this speech: "I'm glad I seed you, because if I hadn't seed you I wouldn't of knowed you." It is slavish work, taking bear in this country, and only Uie most stout-legged of men attempt it the . Wilson way, The country is preci | pitous?Yancy is the most rugged i county in all eastern America ? and it is characterized by exten i sive rhododendron "hells" and laurel "slicks" through which even a lean and determined hound can hardly worm. A man got lost ih a Smoky Hell in the last century and ; it took him nine days to find his way out. But Big Tom would leave home alone with a handful of corn meal, and stay for a week, living off the game, making pones from the meal and water, caching his kills# and returning with horses later to pick them up. | Today, Ewart, sophisticated by ; frequent contact with city hunters, establ.shes his guests on stands, I and drives the bears toward them, but when he is on a hunt alone or with his neighbors, they not in frequently chase a bear for two or more days, eating as best they can , < r not at i ll. Ore time, the fam i i.-i ed Ewart came upon a deserted camping site and ate the potato peelings he found there. And once on a hot chase, without food all day, he encountered some campers who offered him bacon and bread. Fearful that the chase would get away from him, he did not take time to cook it but stuck the raw bacon between slices of bread and munched it as he ran after the pack. When Big Tom lived* the hunters came from afar in wagons or on horseback, following a rocky road up the river valley. When the Wil son house overflowed, they camp ed nearby ? sometimes for weeks. I Now they come purring up in shiny automobiles ? a doctor from Atlanta, a publisher from Ashe ville, a utility President from Ral eigh, and many others. These are D I T 7 THEATRE Em I I M? WEEKLY PROGRAM Night Shows: 7:00 6 9:00 P. M.?Mat. Sat.?Late show 8at. 10:30 Adm.'.Adults 36c incl.?6hildren under_12_yrs;_12c_tax_j_nc. # Saturday, February 28 PRAIRIE EXPRESS JOHNNY MACK BROWN OWL SHOW? BLONDE SAVAGE LEIF ERICKSON AND GALE SHERWOOD Sunday, February 29 REPEAT PERFORMANCE LOUIS HAYWARD AND JOAN LESLIE Monday and Tuesday, March 1-2 WYOMING WILLIAM ELLIOTT AND VERA RALSTON Wednesday, March 3 NEWS HOUNDS LEO GORCEY AND THE BOWERY BOYS Thursday-Friday, March 4-5 MOTHER WORE TIGHTS. BETTY GRABLE AND DAN DAI LEY All Children not in arms will have to purchase a ticket to enter any performance at thl? Theatre. members of the B:g Tom Wilson Bear Club which has leased hunt ing r.gr.is uii the 13,0JU-acre boun dary from the Wilson heirs. But by tacit agreement, the club can not deprive the old bear-hunting neighbors of the family from their ancient privileges, and so the citi fied outdc^orsmen mingle with the Duggins f:om Avery, and the Plotts from way over in the Smokies, and others. . There is little generalization in the bear talk around the Wilson fireside because the Wilsons firm ly believe that in each bear are in carnated individual and sometimes almost human characteristics. There are mean bears and scarity bears. Some are sheep and calf raiders, others are wary of the lowland farms. Then there are bears that will run, and others that will stand and fight; there are dog killers and timid tree-climbers; and some are wise and some are foolish. Method of chasing the bears has altered somewhat since the days of Big Tom. Now the hunters drive up the Big Tom Wilson toll road as far as they can, and then are placed on stands along the bed of the old lumber railroad. The driv ers start out with the pack in leash, led by a wise old "finder" dog. The finder is almost invariably the dean of the pack, often too old to do any chasing himself, but with a keen nose. The finder gets the trail and gives voice, and the fighting pack takes up the scent. ?'After a "starter" dog has found a trail, the rest of the pack is set upon it for the drive. The smart bears often head for the Mt. Mit chell game refuge, knowing they are safe there, but sometimes the pack gets between them and the refuge and they are trapped. In ] this case, the bears head for the! most inaccessible places, or to a good fighting ground. There, if bayed by the dogs, they may climb a tree or fight it out. But a good dog will stick on a trail against any obstacle. Ewart keeps about 12 dogs now (Blue Ticks or Black and Tans mixed with Norwegians and Plotts) and he admits, with the taciturnity of the Appalchian, that they're "pretty good." Sometimes hunters bring other dogs, and oc casionally a fresh pack is put onto a trail when the first pack is worn out. However, Ewart says he has known a dog to follow a trail clean out of the county. He has seen a famished, forlorn and weary pack following a trail, bawling weakly, ;ind going at a walk, but still in tent on the hunt. But you don't have to train a bear dog. "One of the bitchcs will litter, and those pups have never seen a bear or even a bear skin or a bear bone. But you take them out and they won't pay any attention to rabbits, squirrels or anything. Let them strike a fresh bear scent, and they're off and no telling when they'll come home." That's kind of the way the Wil sons are, too. John Smith Returns To India Sunday John "W. Smith, who with Mrs. Smith and their two children have been spending the past few months in Sylva with Mrs. Smith's moth er, Mrs. C. Z. Candler, left Sun- i day, February 15. for New York, where he sailed on Friday, Febru ary 20, aboard the Dutch ship. "Borneo", to return to Bombay, India, to resume his work with \ the Standard Oil Company. Mrs., Smirh accompanied him to New York and will visit Mr. Smith's relatives before returning to Sylva. Mr. Smith hr.s been connected j with the Standard Oil Company j in India for about 16 years. Mrs. Smith and the children plan to re turn to India in July. Too Late To Classify LOST?In or near theatre a few weeks ago a small yellow gold Colbert wrist watch. Initials i R. M. B. scratched on back. Return to Mrs. Floyd Bumgarner, Sylva, N. C. ; 39* H Stuffy Hose SooUs Tonight A little Vi-tro-nol in cach nostril quickly opens up nasal passages to relieve stuffy transient congestion. Invites rest ful sleep. Relieves sniffly. sneezy dlstre&& of head colcs. Follow direc tions in the package Try it! VICKS VATRONOL EMPLOYEES STRIKE ! (Continued from page 1) occurred, we want to state some' facts leading up to and pertain ing to it. At this season of the year we always have a drop in our volume of -business which necessitates the reduction of the | number of our employees. "We have experienced a very substantial drop in business which was responsible for our laying off three employees on Feb. 20. They were not laid off because they had I signed Union cards because the j management was never approached , by any Union Representative nor informed that a Union was being or had been organized in the plant when the strike occurred. Had we been approached by a properly cer^fied Union Representative, we would have discussed the matter with such a representative. Our position in this matter is that our employees who want to work be allowed to get into the plant for work which they have a right to do. "We appealed to the Mayor who provided us with police assistance this (Wednesday) morning, but none of our employees other than the office force were permitted to enter the plant. The whole matter has been referred to the State Dept. of Labor for consideration. "HARRY FERGUSON, ' "Managing Partner." The statement from Mr. Eugene Hall, representing the unions of this area, who is directing this strike, is as follows: "On Friday February 20 several of the work ers who had signed union cards were laid off for having come up short in their work, according to j the management, when a fourth employee offered to assist the three employees that had been laid off in catching up their work she was also laid off. With this and the fact that the employees had asked management for a contract and union recognition, which was refused, the strike waa called."" "The employees are ready and willing to return to work as soon as the management will agree to negotiate a union contract with the workers, the details of the con tract to be worked out after they return to work." When permanent roosts are used on the turkey range, they should be enclosed in a tight wire fence to keep the turkeys out during the day and the foxes, dogs, and other varmints out during the night. Since about 6d per cent of the total cost of producing a market turkey is feed, much of this should be produced on your own farm. COME TO SCHULMAN'S - - - - FOR QUALITY MEN'S WEAR OUR STOCK IS COMPLETE WITH LINES LIKE THESE - - - We Feature All Nationally Known Brands Curlee Clothes ? Griffon Clothes ? McGregor Sportswear ? Coop er Underwear ? Beau Brummell Tries ? Revere Sportswear ? Ar row Shirts ? Manhattan Shirts ? Jayson Shirts ? Kickok Belts ? Dobbs Hats ? Stetson Hats ? Campus Clothes. Here is where you find all the better brands! We sell only the best at all times. Come to Schulman's today and select your new spring outfit FRIDA Y DOOR BUSTERS The Famous Arrow Shirt White Broadcloth The Famous Hull Collar First quality On sale for Regular $3.95 Shirt *^oo EACH Limit One To A Customer Nationally Advertised Brands FLORSHEIN SHOES ? CROSBY SQUARE SHOES ? JARMEN SHOES ? and FREEMAN SHOES. Interwoven Sox to go with these fine shoes WHEN YOU BUY IT AT SCHULMAN'S YOU KNOW IT IS THE BEST SCHULMAN'S DEPT. STORE Fine Footwear Phone 151 "STYLE CENTER OF SYLVA" * Sylva, N. C.

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